


there's no time like the present

by supaprittiest



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, gala - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supaprittiest/pseuds/supaprittiest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Simmons gets invited to a science-y gala, and invites Fitz as her date</p>
            </blockquote>





	there's no time like the present

She’s with Daisy, sitting in the common room drinking tea, when she gets the email. Daisy is going on and on about Coulson’s new love interest, and Simmons just listens while idly checking her phone.

“Hello? Jemma? You in there?” asks Daisy after a lull in the conversation.

“Oh yeah, sorry, what did you just say?” she replies, setting her phone on the table between them.

“You okay? You just got really pale for a second,” Daisy says. “Did I say something to upset you?”

“No, no, it wasn’t you,” Simmons assures her. “Just this email I got- sorry, I shouldn’t have been checking my email while you were talking-”

“What was it about?” Daisy presses.

“I got invited to the New York Academy of Science Gala,” Simmons gushes, beaming excitedly.

“What?! No way!” Daisy gets out of her seat to hug Simmons. “When is it?”

“Two weeks from tomorrow!”

“Are you going to ask Fitz to be your date?” Daisy asks, with a knowing grin on her face.

“Well of course I am,” Simmons says with an air of confidence, but her stomach fills up with butterflies at the idea of asking him to accompany her. Not because she doesn’t want him to be there- quite the opposite, actually. But, things had been a bit shaky between them ever since she brought up Will.

“This is so exciting! What are you going to wear? Are you guys going to coordinate your outfits? Do you think he’ll get you a corsage? This is like, your first date!”

“Well, about that,” Simmons says awkwardly, realizing that she hadn’t had a chance to tell her about their dinner date. “We kind of already had it.”

\---

She seeks out Fitz, and finds him working diligently in the lab. As she draws closer, she sees that he’s running more simulations to find a way back to that bloody planet. She feels a stab of guilt for putting him in this kind of situation, but tries to brush it aside.

“Fitz,” she says softly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh hey,” he says, spinning around in his chair to face her. “How was Daisy?”

“She’s good,” she replies stiffly. She feels her heart jumping into her throat, and she wonders why she’s so nervous. “I need to ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Well, I was invited to the New York Academy of Science Gala, and, um, I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?” she asks, forcing each word out of her mouth before she starts second guessing herself.

“You want me to go with you?” he asks incredulously, his face blank and unreadable.

“Yeah, I mean, if you want to,” she says, indirectly offering him an out.

“Of course I will,” he says, and finally, she can relax a little. She lets out the breath that she had been holding.

“Great,” she breathes. “It’s two weeks from tomorrow.”

\---

“Have you decided how you’re going to do your hair yet?” Daisy asks, laying on Simmons’ bed, while Simmons sifts through her closet to try and find an appropriate dress. The gala is in less than a week, and she’s starting to stress.

“No!” Simmons cries, getting more frustrated by the second. “Get me Pinterest!”

“Okay, Bridezilla,” Daisy says, grabbing Simmons’ tablet from the bedside table. “How do you feel about flower crowns?”

“Daisy. This is the New York Academy of Science Gala, not high school prom,” Simmons snaps. “I can’t wear flower crowns. Everyone who’s going to be there is old.”

“Okay, I’ll look for more conservative options then…,” Daisy says, after a brief pause. “Are you nervous because of Fitz or because of the party?”

“Don’t be silly. I’m not nervous!” Simmons insists. Daisy shoots her a look from across the room. “Okay, I’m a little nervous. It’s a big deal to me, okay?”

“Hey, I don’t blame you! Juggling your professional and romantic life isn’t easy. Trust me, I know,” Daisy says.

“You only kissed Ward like three times,” Simmons reminds her. “That’s hardly a romantic life.”

“Hey! One of them was in a maintenance closet, and we both thought he was going to die!” Daisy defends, laughing. “If that’s not romantic, then I don’t know what is.”

“He turned out to be a psychopath killer,” Simmons says grimly, but despite everything, she laughs a little as well.

“Hey, I didn’t sign up for that,” Daisy insists. “Come on, I might have a dress for you.”

“You couldn’t have pointed that out an hour ago?”

“I could’ve, but it was fun watching you struggle like that,” Daisy laughs.

\---

It’s the night of the gala, and Simmons is just finishing up her makeup. The dress that Daisy lent to her is stunning, but not over-the-top either. It’s sleek and black with off shoulder straps that flaunt her collarbone- hopefully she’ll fit in. Her hair falls in big curls, also courtesy of Daisy.

Fitz knocks on her door just ten minutes before they’re supposed to leave. She takes a minute to collect herself before she answers the door. He’s wearing an actual suit- a feat she’s only ever seen in pictures, and he’s holding a bouquet of yellow and white flowers. The sight makes her want to cry.

“Oh, Fitz,” she says, grinning. “These are beautiful.”

“Aren’t they? I thought Bobbi would love them,” he agrees, and her heart skips a little. “I’m kidding, they’re for you.”

“Very funny,” she says sarcastically, but she can’t help but laugh. She takes the flowers and quickly puts them in a vase. She quickly pulls out her phone and takes a picture of them. “Should we take a selfie or something? I feel like tonight is kind of a big deal.”

“Sure, if you want,” Fitz says. She sidles up to him, and he puts his arm around her shoulder while she holds up her phone. She’s right about to take the picture when she hears Hunter shouting from down the hall. She accidentally takes the picture right when they both turn their heads to see what all the ruckus is about.

“Would you guys hurry up? You’re going to be late,” he says. “Bobbi has the Quinjet ready to go when you guys are done taking selfies.”

“We’ll be right there,” Simmons says, stuffing her phone into her clutch. She glances over at Fitz, who gives her a knowing look. She just rolls her eyes at him.

\---

“Oh my God, we are so underdressed,” Simmons says in horror as she looks around at what other people are wearing.

“Don’t worry about it,” Fitz says. “No one actually cares about that kind of thing.”

“Okay,” she says reluctantly. She takes a deep breath and takes Fitz’s hand. “Let’s go.”

She sees a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, older alumni from the academy, former professors, even Neil DeGrasse Tyson! She socializes with the people she knows- too nervous to dare speak to some of her idols. All the while, Fitz is glued to her at the hip, he puts on a friendly face while she talks to her old friends, like he isn’t counting down the minutes until they can be alone, or better yet, go home.

Eventually they sit down for dinner, and Simmons is grateful for the opportunity to let her feet relax for a while. The stilettos seemed like a great idea when she looked at them with the dress, but the night was only half over and she was ready to hack off her own feet.

“Are you having fun?” she asks Fitz, trying to keep a conversation going when all she wants to do is change into some sweats and watch Doctor Who.

“Yeah, actually, I’m having a great time,” he agrees. She opens her mouth to speak, but then she’s cut off by another voice at their table.

“Leo Fitz!” says the shrill voice of Melissa Atchison, as she sits down at their table. Simmons didn’t know her personally at the Academy, but apparently she was friends with Fitz. It comes as a surprise to her, since Fitz rarely spoke positively of anyone other than her at Sci-Ops. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Oh, hey Melissa,” he says in an uncomfortable tone, and Simmons can feel the tension between them. “How’ve you been?”

“Great thanks!” she says, and then she turns around and yanks on another guy’s sleeve. “Thomas, honey, this is Leo Fitz- the engineer from the Academy that I was telling you about!”

The man turns around- and Simmons doesn’t recognize him either. She isn’t sure just how many people there are from SHIELD at this party, but she’s surprised that she’s ran into this many. She had assumed that most of her fellow alumni had been Hydra. Of course, there’s still the possibility that they _are_ , but she tries not to think about it. She’s not Agent Jemma Simmons tonight, she’s _Doctor_ Jemma Simmons, who has two PhDs in biology and chemistry, and doesn’t think about the constant threat of being captured and brainwashed by Hydra, because that’s not her job.

“Nice to meet you,” says Fitz, shaking Thomas’ hand.

“Leo, this is my fiance, Thomas,” says Melissa. “Oh- are you still dating Jemma? That’s so adorable!”

“Oh, we aren’t-” he starts, but Melissa cuts him off. Simmons pretends to not be listening, faking interest in the napkin in front of her.

“So, how long are you two going to do the ‘will they-won’t they’ game until you just kiss already?” Melissa presses. If this night hadn’t been uncomfortable before, it certainly was now.

“I’m uh, not really sure how to answer that,” Fitz says, looking at Simmons for help.

“It’s complicated,” she says, but doesn’t really elaborate, until Melissa starts staring her down. That’s when Simmons realizes that she’s going to have to lie her way out of this one, and she knows it’s going to be a disaster. “Fitz’s- I mean Leo’s- mother just passed away, and it just, wouldn’t be a good time to start anything, I don’t think. Wouldn’t you agree, Leo?”

“Yeah, I’d have to agree with that,” Fitz says after a period of stunned silence.

“Well, there’s never a _good_ time to start anything, right Thomas?” she says to her fiance, who had just sat down beside her. “When Thomas and I got together, it was just after my sister went into a coma. Thomas was a friend of hers, and we spent a lot of time together just waiting for her to wake up. Finally, we just said enough of this unresolved sexual tension! And so we kissed, and two hours later, my sister woke up!! How sweet is that?”

“Very sweet,” Fitz agrees, in the same uncomfortable tone. Simmons takes a deep breath to collect herself a bit, but doesn’t let it show that she’s irritated by Melissa.

\---

The rest of the night is spent drinking champagne and eating food and laughing, but when it’s time for them to leave, Simmons is relieved.

She lets Fitz drape his jacket over her shoulders, since it should only be a short amount of time before Bobbi returns with the Quinjet, and it’s not really that cold out. They stand huddled together on the top of the building waiting for her.

“So, do you really think it’s a bad time to start something?” Fitz asks after a long period of silence.

“I don’t know, Fitz,” she sighs. “I was just making things up to keep it from getting awkward.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, laughing a little. “Melissa can be a little…”

“Neurotic,” Simmons says, finishing his sentence for the first time in what feels like ages.

“Yeah. We were friends before I met you, but it was kind of a one sided friendship. I was only friends with her because I needed a lab partner. I actually don’t like her that much,” he admits, smiling.

“I could tell,” she says. “How come you never told me about her?”

“A little jealous, are we?” Fitz asks, in a teasing tone.

“No!” she protests, but she can’t stop herself from blushing. “Maybe a bit.”

“Wait, really?”

“I don’t know, a little bit I guess! I thought I was your only friend, and I was kind of glad, because you were kind of my only friend at Sci-Ops,” she admits.

“You’re the only one who meant something to me,” he says slowly, struggling to get the right words out. He’s about to continue talking, and there’s a sinking feeling in her stomach that he’s going to take it back, so she leans forward and kisses him. Just a little, on the lips, just enough to get a message across. When she leans back, he looks all flustered and adorable with this look of disbelief written all over his face.

“You mean something to me too, Fitz,” she says. “And I know that I’ve been sending you a lot of mixed signals over the past year or so, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve been trying to figure out how I feel, but you were always so sure of how you felt, and I should’ve been more respectful-”

This time, he kisses her, taking the words right out of her mouth, which is good, because she wasn’t sure what she would say next. She lifts her hand to his cheek, gently caressing his stubbly jawline.

They break apart, and Simmons just wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly until the Quinjet is hovering above them.

 **  
**And despite all of the nerves and discomfort and hysteria of the night, it was the best night of her life.


End file.
